Candidate registration for leadership positions within the ruling People Power Party(PPP) began on Thursday ahead of the party convention set for March 8.

Among the candidates for party chief who completed the registration procedure on the first day of registration were Hwang Kyo-ahn, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Gi-hyeon, Cho Kyoung-tae and Yoon Sang-hyun.

Those seeking to become members of the party’s Supreme Council also registered on Thursday, including North Korean defector-turned-lawmaker Tae Yong-ho.

After the registration period, the party is set to hold televised debates from the middle of this month following cutoffs.

Under revised regulations on the election of the party leadership, the outcome will be determined based solely on votes cast by party members, scrapping the general public survey that made up 30 percent of the party's weighted voting system.

A runoff will be held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes for a position should no one win an outright majority.